IND vs SA: 1st T20I Review – Surya, Rahul guide India to opening win

India beat South Africa in the first T20I match by eight wickets on Wednesday to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. Indian pacers dominated the innings and restricted the Proteas to just 106/8 in 20 overs. Then KL Rahul and Suryakumar Yadav scored fifties to guide India to an easy victory.

Indian captain Rohit Sharma won the toss at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram and elected to bowl first. Deepak Chahar bowled out opponent’s captain Temba Bavuma on the sixth delivery of the innings to give India a good start. Arshdeep Singh then took three big wickets in the next over to completely shatter’s South Africa’s batting line-up.

South Africa then lost their fifth wicket in the form of David Miller on the innings’ 15th delivery only with just nine runs on the scoreboard. Aiden Markram then scored 25 runs off 24 balls to avoid further slip-ups and formed a crucial 33-run partnership with Wayne Parnell for the sixth wicket.

Keshav Maharaj scored the highest 41 runs off 35 balls and dragged South Africa’s innings to 106/8 in 20 overs. For India, Arshdeep Singh took three, and Deepak Chahar and Harshal Patel grabbed two wickets each.

Kagiso Rabada dismissed Rohit for a  duck in the third over to give South Africa some early hopes. India also lost in-form batter Virat Kohli on just three runs on Anrich Nortje’s delivery in the seventh over. But KL Rahul and Suryakumar Yadav remained firm in their chase with an unbeaten 93-run partnership for the third wicket.

Rahul scored 51 runs off 56 balls and Suryakumar smashed 50 balls off 33 balls to guide India to a big eight-wicket win with 20 balls remaining. Arshdeep won the player of the match for taking three wickets while conceding just32 runs in four overs.

Best performers of the match:

Arshdeep Singh:

The young left-arm pacer came in the squad for the rested Bhuvneshwar Kumar and made a big impact from the start. He took three big wickets of Quinton de Kock, Rilee Rossouw, and David Miller in his first over.

Suryakumar Yadav:

The in-form Suryakumar Yadav once again played a match-winning knock for India after his heroics against Australia. He came in to bat after the dismissal of Kohli and stumbled on the first delivery. But he smashed two sixes on the next two deliveries and went on to smash unbeaten 50 runs off just 33 balls.

What’s next for the teams:

Both teams travel to Guwahati for the second T20I match scheduled at Barsapara Cricket Stadium on Sunday, October 2.